TigerLilly's Mom
<font color=FF99FF>Victim of a drive-by tagging!
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2002
- Messages
- 1,471
Ok, here goes. I have never done an official report so bear with me. I love reading other trip reports when I am getting excited for my own trip, so this is why I'm doing one. Hope you all enjoy!
Cast:
Me - Mom, 31 Trip planner and organizer
Steve - Dad, 32
Chandler - DS, 8
Tatum - DD, 6
Friday, February 27 - At 12:01am Friday morning, I printed out our boarding passes on Southwest.com. It was very easy and we all received A boarding passes. It was nice not to have to worry about getting to the airport early to try and get A passes. Those of you who fly Southwest, know what I am talking about. I would highly reccomend trying this for your next trip.
We all awoke early and excited to be going to one of our favorite places. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to have a McDonald's breakfast (Mom and Dad say gross, kids say yummy!). Our flight left on time and arrived in Orlando at about 2:35pm. We all headed to the people mover - our first Orlando ride!! Our town car driver from Tiffany was waiting for us by baggage and he led us outside into 50 degree weather
! I kid you not, it was freezing. We try to ignore this fact and talk about the palm trees and flowers as we head to publix to pick up beer, water, and juice. This older woman insisted on taking our cart for us, no matter how hard we tried to say no! In the car I told Steve she was hoping for a tip! He didn't believe me since we never tip grocery workers in New Hampshire. The towncar driver overheard and said yes, she probably was hoping for a tip!
We all ooohed and aahed as we pass the Royal Pacific, The Portifino, and finally the Hard Rock. I love this place! The feeling of pulling up to check in is the best feeling in the world. I go to the counter to check in and ask the very nice person at the desk if she has a fabulous room for me. She says "Oh yes, it must be fabulous, because it is already picked out just for you!". Now, I was about to ask for an upgrade, but when she says this, I keep my mouth shut. Room 5109. Well, I know it is high, that is good. We approach and it is quite a bit away from the elevator. Well, this room could be a pool view...Here it is! Wait..This side can't be a pool view, well...maybe it is a suite or something cool like that....maybe a deluxe?....no, it looks like a normal room...well, does it at least have the white duvets...no. Well, I'm not sure what was so special about this room, but it is fine and I'm not picky. I just wish I would have at least had a chance to ask for an upgrade. But, the room is very clean and that is most important to me. The only thing I think should be improved is the carpeting. It is very worn and needs to be replaced. But, other than that, the room was great.
We decide to bundled up and head to Universal. It is VERY cold out. Later in the week, I was talking to the man who did Tatum's hairwrap and he said Friday was the first night that he can remember that they closed the pool due to cold weather. But, we are from New Hampshire and we know how to have fun in below zero weather, so let's go!! What a great feeling approaching Universal and handing our tickets over for the first time. The kids want to do Jimmy Nuetron first. It is a fun cute show and we walked right on. We are hoping to see Spongebob on the way out, but he is not there. WE make a note to come earlier in the day next time to try and catch him. We head over to Shrek and walk right on. I LOVE this movie. The graphics are so, so good and Shrek is on of my all time favorite movies. After this, we decide to head over to MIB. We all did pretty good, I was proud of myself for getting 280,00ish and I got the bonus everytime I played this, but no one else in my family did? Can only one person per car get this? I didn't think so, but Steve and Chandler insisted their red button never lit up in 5 times of going on.
After MIB, we head to Back to the Future. We are in line behind one of the most horrid families I have ever encountered. They had an accent that I would classify as maybe Irish, but I'm not sure. The two children about 7 and 9 were fighting horribly. Their names were Lucy and Gavin. I know this because their father or whoever was with them said it repetitively while he was "disciplining" them. They were screaming and pushing and pulling at each other about who got to be in front. Several times the boy pushed himself into Chandler. Their father said "you two are the worst behaved children in the entire park!!". And, he was right! It was kind of cool just listening to their accents, but then Gavin really got out of control. His father kept threatening to pull them out of line and out of the park, but you could tell he would never do this. If my kids were acting like this, it would have lasted two minutes and they would be back at the hotel in bed. My kids are not angels, but that kind of behavior is unacceptable. Then Gavin called his father at B***h!!! His father ignored it and his sister said "Dad, didn't you hear what Gavin called you?" He continued to ignore, so Gavin really got going, "B***h, B***h, B***h, B***h. I couldn't believe he was calling his father this!! His father said "stop it" a few times, but did nothing. My kids stood staring with their mouths hanging open, it was really outrageous. Thank God, they were not in our car once we finally got in. I was really loving my kids after this ride. Back to the Future just doesn't do it for me, I think the movie needs to be clearer or something. It is just an ok ride for us and this is the one and only time we went on it.
By this time, it was getting close to park closing and we just kind of strolled around taking pictures. We were walking down the Hollywood street and we heard someone talking loudly in a funny voice. We looked over and say Olive Oyl and Popeye. They were chatting up a storm with each other in one of the doorways and there was not another person in sight. Tatum took one look at them and booked it full speed with her arms open for a hug. It looked like she was reuniting with a long lost relative. Olive Oyl got so excited to see Tatum running toward her, she knelt right down to recieve Tatum's hug. The kids spent a bit of time talking with Popeye and Olive and then posed for a picture. Even as we were walking away, there was no one around and Olive and Popey went back to talking with each other in character. It was so cool! Be sure to see the picture, it is so cute.
As we left the park, we decided to give the Hard Rock Cafe a try. The atmosphere was great and the food was bad, bad, bad. Steve and I had a pasta dish that was overly salty with sticky tough noodles. Tatum had a hotdog that she thought was fine. Let me tell you about Chandler. He is a food boy. He loves food. Any food, all kinds. He has eaten ostrich, escargo, and many other specialties that kids will just not even try (including Tatum) When he goes over to friend houses the Moms will comment to me how nice it is to cook for Chandler, because he will compliment them and say how delicious everything is. The only thing he does not like is olives. That is it. He loves everything. Especially cheeseburgers. I do not cook or buy red meat at home, so when we are at a restuarant, that is usually what he will order. He ordered a cheeseburger at the Hard Rock Cafe and complained about it. Chandler has never complained about food a day in his life. But, he said the cheeseburger tasted like "nothing" and I believe him. He only finished half of it. Also, we ordered nachos for an appetizer and they came out uncooked. Only a bit of cheese on top was melted, and the rest looked like it just came out of the bag. Really bad food. Hopefully, it was just an off night while we were there, but to me, it tasted like an overpriced Applebees. JMHO.
We returned to our room to find that the manager had sent us a fruit and cheese platter and wine. How nice!! Be sure to check out the picure in the link below. I think it was because we were staying two night on a gift certificate from a previously disappointing stay. It was a nice touch. Also, when I called for turndown service, the lady said I didn't need to call every day because turndown was an automatic service for VIP customers. I have no idea what a VIP customer was, but we also had a lot of extra stuff in the bathroom like lint brushes, toothbrushes, ect.
We all headed to bed with visions of more fun for tommorow!! Stayed tuned for day 2.....
Here is the link to pictures from our first day - enjoy: http://www.amazon.ofoto.com/ShareLa...t_signin=BrowsePhotos.jsp?showSlide=true&Ux=1
Cast:
Me - Mom, 31 Trip planner and organizer
Steve - Dad, 32
Chandler - DS, 8
Tatum - DD, 6
Friday, February 27 - At 12:01am Friday morning, I printed out our boarding passes on Southwest.com. It was very easy and we all received A boarding passes. It was nice not to have to worry about getting to the airport early to try and get A passes. Those of you who fly Southwest, know what I am talking about. I would highly reccomend trying this for your next trip.
We all awoke early and excited to be going to one of our favorite places. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to have a McDonald's breakfast (Mom and Dad say gross, kids say yummy!). Our flight left on time and arrived in Orlando at about 2:35pm. We all headed to the people mover - our first Orlando ride!! Our town car driver from Tiffany was waiting for us by baggage and he led us outside into 50 degree weather
! I kid you not, it was freezing. We try to ignore this fact and talk about the palm trees and flowers as we head to publix to pick up beer, water, and juice. This older woman insisted on taking our cart for us, no matter how hard we tried to say no! In the car I told Steve she was hoping for a tip! He didn't believe me since we never tip grocery workers in New Hampshire. The towncar driver overheard and said yes, she probably was hoping for a tip!We all ooohed and aahed as we pass the Royal Pacific, The Portifino, and finally the Hard Rock. I love this place! The feeling of pulling up to check in is the best feeling in the world. I go to the counter to check in and ask the very nice person at the desk if she has a fabulous room for me. She says "Oh yes, it must be fabulous, because it is already picked out just for you!". Now, I was about to ask for an upgrade, but when she says this, I keep my mouth shut. Room 5109. Well, I know it is high, that is good. We approach and it is quite a bit away from the elevator. Well, this room could be a pool view...Here it is! Wait..This side can't be a pool view, well...maybe it is a suite or something cool like that....maybe a deluxe?....no, it looks like a normal room...well, does it at least have the white duvets...no. Well, I'm not sure what was so special about this room, but it is fine and I'm not picky. I just wish I would have at least had a chance to ask for an upgrade. But, the room is very clean and that is most important to me. The only thing I think should be improved is the carpeting. It is very worn and needs to be replaced. But, other than that, the room was great.
We decide to bundled up and head to Universal. It is VERY cold out. Later in the week, I was talking to the man who did Tatum's hairwrap and he said Friday was the first night that he can remember that they closed the pool due to cold weather. But, we are from New Hampshire and we know how to have fun in below zero weather, so let's go!! What a great feeling approaching Universal and handing our tickets over for the first time. The kids want to do Jimmy Nuetron first. It is a fun cute show and we walked right on. We are hoping to see Spongebob on the way out, but he is not there. WE make a note to come earlier in the day next time to try and catch him. We head over to Shrek and walk right on. I LOVE this movie. The graphics are so, so good and Shrek is on of my all time favorite movies. After this, we decide to head over to MIB. We all did pretty good, I was proud of myself for getting 280,00ish and I got the bonus everytime I played this, but no one else in my family did? Can only one person per car get this? I didn't think so, but Steve and Chandler insisted their red button never lit up in 5 times of going on.
After MIB, we head to Back to the Future. We are in line behind one of the most horrid families I have ever encountered. They had an accent that I would classify as maybe Irish, but I'm not sure. The two children about 7 and 9 were fighting horribly. Their names were Lucy and Gavin. I know this because their father or whoever was with them said it repetitively while he was "disciplining" them. They were screaming and pushing and pulling at each other about who got to be in front. Several times the boy pushed himself into Chandler. Their father said "you two are the worst behaved children in the entire park!!". And, he was right! It was kind of cool just listening to their accents, but then Gavin really got out of control. His father kept threatening to pull them out of line and out of the park, but you could tell he would never do this. If my kids were acting like this, it would have lasted two minutes and they would be back at the hotel in bed. My kids are not angels, but that kind of behavior is unacceptable. Then Gavin called his father at B***h!!! His father ignored it and his sister said "Dad, didn't you hear what Gavin called you?" He continued to ignore, so Gavin really got going, "B***h, B***h, B***h, B***h. I couldn't believe he was calling his father this!! His father said "stop it" a few times, but did nothing. My kids stood staring with their mouths hanging open, it was really outrageous. Thank God, they were not in our car once we finally got in. I was really loving my kids after this ride. Back to the Future just doesn't do it for me, I think the movie needs to be clearer or something. It is just an ok ride for us and this is the one and only time we went on it.
By this time, it was getting close to park closing and we just kind of strolled around taking pictures. We were walking down the Hollywood street and we heard someone talking loudly in a funny voice. We looked over and say Olive Oyl and Popeye. They were chatting up a storm with each other in one of the doorways and there was not another person in sight. Tatum took one look at them and booked it full speed with her arms open for a hug. It looked like she was reuniting with a long lost relative. Olive Oyl got so excited to see Tatum running toward her, she knelt right down to recieve Tatum's hug. The kids spent a bit of time talking with Popeye and Olive and then posed for a picture. Even as we were walking away, there was no one around and Olive and Popey went back to talking with each other in character. It was so cool! Be sure to see the picture, it is so cute.
As we left the park, we decided to give the Hard Rock Cafe a try. The atmosphere was great and the food was bad, bad, bad. Steve and I had a pasta dish that was overly salty with sticky tough noodles. Tatum had a hotdog that she thought was fine. Let me tell you about Chandler. He is a food boy. He loves food. Any food, all kinds. He has eaten ostrich, escargo, and many other specialties that kids will just not even try (including Tatum) When he goes over to friend houses the Moms will comment to me how nice it is to cook for Chandler, because he will compliment them and say how delicious everything is. The only thing he does not like is olives. That is it. He loves everything. Especially cheeseburgers. I do not cook or buy red meat at home, so when we are at a restuarant, that is usually what he will order. He ordered a cheeseburger at the Hard Rock Cafe and complained about it. Chandler has never complained about food a day in his life. But, he said the cheeseburger tasted like "nothing" and I believe him. He only finished half of it. Also, we ordered nachos for an appetizer and they came out uncooked. Only a bit of cheese on top was melted, and the rest looked like it just came out of the bag. Really bad food. Hopefully, it was just an off night while we were there, but to me, it tasted like an overpriced Applebees. JMHO.
We returned to our room to find that the manager had sent us a fruit and cheese platter and wine. How nice!! Be sure to check out the picure in the link below. I think it was because we were staying two night on a gift certificate from a previously disappointing stay. It was a nice touch. Also, when I called for turndown service, the lady said I didn't need to call every day because turndown was an automatic service for VIP customers. I have no idea what a VIP customer was, but we also had a lot of extra stuff in the bathroom like lint brushes, toothbrushes, ect.
We all headed to bed with visions of more fun for tommorow!! Stayed tuned for day 2.....
Here is the link to pictures from our first day - enjoy: http://www.amazon.ofoto.com/ShareLa...t_signin=BrowsePhotos.jsp?showSlide=true&Ux=1
Great pics!!!!!! Looks like you had a great first day!
